Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Tis my last day in work before the holidays people and I probably won't be blogging till the Noo Year seeing as I only do when I'm supposed to be working and the Internet connection at home home is...so...very...slow. So HAPPY CHRISTMAS everyone from us Red Lemonaders and Mr Hugh Jackman. Yes indeedy.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

I was in Hamley's in Dundrum over the weekend and found myself looking at the shelves of Barbie dolls. I purposely avoided going anywhere near those baby prostitute Bratz atrocities as they make me feel ill. Anyway, there's a Barbie doll there with a price tag of €148. Yeah. The bones of 150 quid for a doll? Are they serious? Alright, the pink hair is kinda deadly, it's a collector's item type thing and I take it she's been designed or accessorised by fancy pants jewellery designer Tarina Tarantino herself but COME ON does she poo diamonds or at least make the tea or something?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Amaze your family and friends over the holiday season with your amazing knowledge of all-things Christmassy!

Christmas trees have been popular in Germany since the 16th century but only made it over to Britain three hundred years later. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, originally came from Germany and made a tree part of the official celebrations at Windsor Castle.

The most expensive Christmas card in the world is a hand-drawn card that John Lennon sent to Beatles manager Brian Epstein. It sold at auction for £5,600 in April 2000.

Baubles were probably invented thanks to alcohol. Around 200 years ago, Bohemian glass blowers used to enjoy a cold drink in their hot factories, and when tipsy would start competing to see who could blow the biggest glass bubbles. These then evolved into Christmas decorations. (my favourite)

The USA's official national Christmas tree, in Kings Canyon National Park, California, is almost 280 feet tall and 2,000 years old. A little girl who saw it in 1925 commented what an impressive Christmas tree it would make, and the President agreed, making it the country's official Christmas tree in 1926.

The first fairy lights are said to be have appeared in 1882, when Edward H. Johnson - a friend of inventor Thomas Edison - had 80 tiny lightbulbs made especially for his home Christmas tree. Before this, people would use candles and set fire to their tinsel all the time.

Christmas cards were introduced in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. Before then it was tradition to write long, detailed letters to friends and family at Christmas, but Mr Cole couldn't be bothered with all that effort. He commissioned an artist to design some cards and filled them with a short greeting, saving us all a lot of writing each year.

Traditional Christmas meals in England used to involve pig's heads and mustard. But when Queen Elizabeth I heard the news of the destruction of the Spanish Armada on Christmas Eve 1588, she declared that everybody in England should eat the dish she had enjoyed earlier that day - roast goose. When turkeys were introduced to Britain in the 1700s, they became a popular replacement.

Mulled wine doesn't just make you happy because of the alcohol in it - neurologists have found that traditional Christmas spices like cinnamon, cloves and ginger release feel-good hormones in the body.

Spiders are a big part of Christmas in the Ukraine. Trees are decorated with fake spiders and webs, and a real spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

'Silent Night' was first performed in Austria in 1818. Legend has it that the church organ in Oberndorf broke on Christmas Eve, leaving the priest - Joseph Mohr - with no music for his Christmas service. He handed the words to a poem he had written to a friend and asked that he write some guitar music to accompany it, and 'Silent Night' was born.

Christmas was banned across England in 1647, when Oliver Cromwell's puritans were in charge. Pro-Christmas riots broke out across the country but the holiday wasn't officially restored until King Charles II took over 13 years later.

The popular abbreviation 'Xmas' isn't merely popular because it's quicker to type on a mobile phone. 'X' is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ - Xristos - so the shortened spelling of Christmas has been around for hundreds of years.

The Beatles and the Spice Girls are the only acts to have ever had three consecutive Christmas number one records - the Beatles from 1963 to 1965 and the Spice Girls from 1996 to 1998. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen is the only record to have been Christmas number one twice - in 1975 and 1991.

Have some Christmas facts to share?

that is all

(just want to say as well i won't be posting anything for a while have some thinking to do about this blog and weather or not i want to continue, happy christmas and new year and maybe i'll see you next year)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

so a couple of months ago we were suppose to be doing the surface graphics for an irish underwear company's packaging, we were also suppose to be present when they took the photos for the pack shot as well. Well someone went on maternity leave for aaagggessss and then they went off and did the photo shoot without me (was not impressed). Anyway it has finally gotten back on the drawing board and i am currently photoshopping a pic of a hot boy, OW OWWWW!!

So. Following on from my hunt for this infernal game, it turns out the person I bought it from on eBay is conveniently "no longer a registered user". A bit of investigation showed that all their feedback had been given and received over 3 days and an email to someone who left feedback saying they got the game revealed that they never actually did. It would appear that I and many others have been conned out of 40 of my hard earned euros for a sold out game that will never arrive.

Dear zbay02,

May your Christmas tree catch fire. May you stand on an upturned plug while barefoot.May you contract syphilis and have to wear a bell around your neck to warn others of your mankyass, thieving presence.May you lose all the money you have stolen from decent people trying to buy a present for a loved one as you get beaten up by a rabid, knuckleduster-wearing pimp in a case of mistaken identity you absolute cunt.

Have a terrible Christmas and a horribly shite New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Kitty

As it happens, my effing stellar boyfriend has saved the day, as his aunt had put her name on a waiting list and is collecting the game for me tomorrow. Professor Layton had better be the most amazing fucking thing since sliced bread after all this.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Exactly a week ago, I put Bettie Page on my girl crush list and this morning I found out that she died yesterday, aged 85.

Back in my teenage goth/metalhead phase (I was always too happy and smiley to be a proper goth) I used to buy such fine publications as Kerrang and Metal Hammer, the back pages of which were always filled with ads for gigs in random locations around the UK which always sounded fierce exciting to my underage self. There would also be ads for online merchandise shops for posters, t shirts, studded dog collars and whathaveyou, listing out all the different stuff they sold. One thing that kept popping out at me was this name "Bettie Page", and these old black and white photos of a dark haired girl in stockings and the like. Intrigued, I Googled the feck out of her and discovered this whole cult following the lady has.

I had always liked pin up girl art and I think this sort of cemented my appreciation of the whole genre. In college I even wrote my 3rd year dissertation about the origins of the pin up girl, and talked about how Bettie was one of the most popular photography pin up girls in 50s America. I love how she could look really cute and fun in the beach bikini photos and totally switch it round, practically growling at the camera in black knickers, brandishing a whip in the bondage and fetish type shoots. The fact that she had no problem posing with whips, or being gagged or catfighting with other girls was what made her so popular. She even used to do all her own hair and makeup and made most of her outfits herself. Bettie packed it all in around 1958 and converted to Christianity, kept a low profile and was totally unaware of a huge revival in her popularity in the 70s, 80s and 90s. She wouldn't allow anyone to photograph her in her later years, saying that she wanted people to remember her as she was, and I know I'll certainly remember her as a fun, sexy and flirty icon, winking at the camera with a big saucy smile.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I've checked Argos, Zavvi, HMV, Game, Smyths, been bidding on ebay and wondering how Play.com can get away with charging almost €80 for it. I've sent out the flying monkeys and I'm now waiting on a call from Sligo to see if it can be found there as Dublin, Cork and Waterford are proving fruitless. After all this, Mam had bloody well better like it.

**UPDATE**

Sligo is out too. Balls.

**UPADTE THE SECOND**

I've chanced ordering it on eBay so fingers crossed it arrives in time! Thanks everyone for the helpful offers, you're all lovely so ye are!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Ok, it does feature a friend of a friend of a friend type thing but trust me, it happened. I'm just going to call the stars Emma and Sarah, since I don't actually know them. Bear with me.

Emma and Sarah were going for dinner in one of the posh Baggot St restaurants. However, halfway through their starters a waiter came over and apologetically asked if they wouldn't mind moving tables, only because a regular of theirs had turned up and he always sat there, but if not then no big deal. The girls didn't mind at all, and moved with no complaint. When their main course arrived, it came with a bottle of champagne, which the waiter explained was a thank-you for the table from the regular. When the girls turned to look and say thanks, who was sitting there but flippin BONO and some of his mates. A second bottle courtesy of Bono later, Emma stepped outside for a cigarette and met one of the lads from the table and got talking to him.

Emma: Thanks a million for the champagne! How do you know Bono?Him: Oh, I've been working in the music industry for years, just know him through that really.Emma: Do you think he'd mind if we got a photo with him?Him: Yeah, no problem, look I'll ask him when I go back to the table.

Deadly! So after a few minutes the girls get the nod from this fella to come over. They hop in beside Bono, bit of a chat, toss the camera to the friend and he takes the photo for them, they thank the lads and go to pay their bill. The waiter tells them it's already been taken care of, and adds:

By the way, that was the funniest thing I've seen in ages! I can't believe ye threw the camera to Bruce Springsteen!